For most of us, buying our first home is one of the most exciting experiences in life. Still, it can be quite a struggle to save for a deposit and find a place within your budget.

Every little helps, as they say, and that’s certainly the case with the First Time Buyers scheme. Extended by the government for 2017, the scheme allows people buying their first residential property to benefit from a stamp duty exemption up to €5,000 on the first €150,000 of the cost of the property.